Teeing off into the future

JOHN Dearden was having a hit in a paddock near where he lived in North Ballarat in 1919.

Mr Dearden explained he was a golfer to a passer-by who asked what was he doing.

“I’m practicing my swing here because my golf club is 16km away and carrying my clubs while riding my bike to get there isn’t easy,” he said.

Why don’t you start a course closer to home the passer-by asked?

Mr Dearden organised a meeting at the Ballarat North Bowling Club on 7 April of that year, attended by 54 people and the Ballarat North Golf Club was formed with Mr Dearden elected as its first President. The club, now known as Midlands Golf Club, celebrated its centenary on Sunday, 7 April.

John Dillon, a member for 56 years, took on the role of historian after his retirement. He is the author of From Small Acorns a history of the first one hundred years of the club.

Mr Dillon who spent the last ten years researching said he hadn’t intended to write a book.

“I wasn’t very good at writing essays at school, but somehow before I knew it the information fell into place and it started to look like a book so I went on with it,” he said.

From a chance encounter and humble beginnings Midlands history tells a story of community involvement, impressive generosity, hard work, setbacks, relocation and continued growth.

Mr Dillon said the sense of generosity and the goodwill of the first land owners has run right through the club’s history with a lot of work done by volunteers and members.

“The golf club is a pretty big part of their life, even today there are people who spend pretty much every day at the club for some reason or other,” he said.

The club found its first home when Dave Ronaldson, co-founder of Ronaldson Brothers & Tippett, offered the use of his paddock for free to the club along with several other land owners.

A nine-hole sand scrape course was officially opened a month after Mr Dearden called the inaugural meeting and a wooden clubhouse placed on the course twelve months later.

In 1926 the golf course expanded onto land rented from Ballarat brick maker Selkirk, where an imposing two-story club house was constructed using bricks donated by then President James Selkirk.

The club suffered during the Great Depression with natural disasters causing setbacks on the fairways and the clubhouse, however in the mid-1930s the course expanded by purchasing 32 acres of land and was renamed to Midlands Golf Club.

Midlands moved into their third phase of development with the construction of a new course and clubhouse in the early 70s when 60 acres of land were acquired and golfing legend Peter Thompson and Mike Wolveridge’s design business laid out the new course.

Darren Bandy, Midlands Golf Club Chairperson said the board and management are now working on plans and strategies to ensure the club is still around to celebrate its 200th anniversary.

“It’s really exciting to be a part of a club with such a long and proud history,” Mr Bandy said.

“As a board, we all feel very privileged to be able to help celebrate 100 years of Midlands, and we’re excited to be part of implementing a strategy to help sustain Midlands into the future.”

The club has devised a master plan for further growth to make it a family friendly venue open to the public and members alike.

Selling off the land adjacent to the course, which currently houses the diving range, for residential development will underwrite the plan for the clubhouse upgrade and provide financial stability in the future.

Mr Bandy said Midlands is now a golf club, bowls club and an RSL club as well.

“Our aim is to make it a family hub, including a playground, places to eat, have a drink and expand our entertainment options and function rooms,” he said.

“We want the club to be seen as an area the community can enjoy.”